Posts from the “the world’s gone mad” Category

If you were following the #uNDC14 hashtag on Twitter last week you’ll have seen that despite our best efforts we didn’t manage to get the violence against women motions admitted onto the UNISON conference agenda. What we did manage to do however was ensure the issue wasn’t ignored. By anyone. I’ve put together a Storify that pretty much covers what happened – [View the story “Tell UNISON to…….” on Storify] – but I did just want to add a few more things myself. First off, for those who aren’t conference geeks and who have no idea what some of the jargon in that Storify means, here’s a brief timeline of what happened: On Monday 16th those of us involved in submitting the violence against…

Sometimes I get sent press releases: today is one of those days. PRESS RELEASE: Launch of World’s First Erotic Alarm Clock DATE: 14th November 2011 Luxury gift company Gallus et Mulier has launched the world’s first erotic alarm – designed exclusively for ladies who like to wake up with pleasure. The Little Rooster Alarm Clock Vibrator will be launched at the Erotica show in the Grand Hall Olympia, London from 18th – 20th November 2011 The Little Rooster is worn inside your knickers but outside your body. It starts very gently and then slowly increases in power until you…wake up. “Most of us hate the sound of our alarms, so I thought why not make an alarm clock people…

In his speech to the Conservative Party Conference yesterday David Cameron claimed that one of the biggest things holding people back in this country “is the shadow of health and safety.” “I was told recently” he claimed “about a school that wanted to buy a set of highlighter pens. But with the pens came a warning. Not so fast – make sure you comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. Including plenty of fresh air and hand and eye protection. Try highlighting in all that.” So as you can see, I donned my personal protective equipment and did just that. And he was right: it was bloody hard. I’m not sure though that I understand completely (if indeed at all),…

This is a guest post by Polly I’m often behind a trend, so it came as no surprise at about half past eight in the evening on Tuesday, to find out that I’d just witnessed the complete breakdown of western civilization as we know it, without even realising. AKA the Manchester riot I’d spotted the shops were closed in the centre of town at just before 7 when I got there, but apart from that it looked like a normal rush hour, and it was only when I got home that I was informed via various people who weren’t actually there that Market Street was in the grip of criminal mobs. Well Miss Selfridge was on fire actually – there goes my chance of…

There was a survey about parental attitudes around sex education getting some quite prominent coverage in the press towards the end of last week (it’s cited here for instance, and here, and here). Now if you’re anything like me, you might have wondered about the coincidence of such a survey coming out in the very week that, thanks to Wednesday’s 10 minute rule bill on the subject from Nadine Dorries, sex education in schools was set to become a really hot topic. Indeed, following on from the Parliamentary debate, Dorries even used the survey herself in one of her own ‘blog’ posts to help illustrate the support her bill had attracted, and to help reinforce her argument that abstinence education for girls is something…

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"Those of us who love reading and writing believe that being a writer is a sacred trust. It means telling the truth. It means being incorruptible. It means not being afraid, and never lying."
Andrea Dworkin

"Sex-negative feminism consists of, what, Andrea Dworkin and that weird Cath Elliott woman at the Guardian?"
Someone on the Internet